All in the Packaging: Structural and Electronic Effects of Nanoconfinement on Metal Oxide Nanoparticles
- Montana
Encapsulation of inorganic nanoparticles within oligomeric protein cages can provide a multivalent approach for the synthesis of biocompatible nanomaterials by combining the nanoparticle-forming catalytic abilities of the cage interior with the biointeractive exterior surface of the cage. Protein cages provide more than simply a passive compartment for nanoparticle formation: protein-templated nanoparticles can exhibit structural and electronic properties that are dramatically different from materials synthesized without protein templating. Mixed Fe/Mn oxides formed under hydrothermal conditions form a structural series ranging from the {gamma}-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} (maghemite) to the Mn{sub 3}O{sub 4} (hausmannite) spinel structure as the Mn fraction is increased from 0 to 100%, while similar materials formed inside of human ferritin transition instead from maghemite to a layered Mn oxide structure similar to chalcophanite. The electronic properties of the protein-templated nanoparticles, as determined from soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy, also differ from those of their protein-free counterparts, in agreement with the structural results. Protein-templated synthesis may provide the opportunity for powerful control over nanomaterial properties through nanoconfinement, but the ultimate physical basis for these effects remains to be determined.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- NSFDOE - BASIC ENERGY SCIENCESNASA
- OSTI ID:
- 1024048
- Journal Information:
- Chem. Mater., Vol. 23, Issue (17) ; 09, 2011; ISSN 0897-4756
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- ENGLISH
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